Hampshire, Somerset eye victory in Caribbean

LONDON (CMC): Top English Twenty20 sides Hampshire and Somerset insist they will be making every effort to win the Caribbean Twenty20 competition next year.

The two English county sides have been invited by the West Indies Cricket Board to take part in the premier T20 competition in the region, which takes place in Antigua and Barbados from January 9 to 24.

Rod Bransgrove, chairman of Hampshire, the reigning English T20 champions, underscored the value of the competition to his club.

"The Caribbean T20 is a great opportunity for the Hampshire Royals squad to reconvene and play some high-quality cricket over the winter months," he said on the club's website.

"I'm sure it will be a very enjoyable fortnight for everyone involved. I would like to thank the WICB for their kind invitation, and we look forward to taking part."

Hampshire are likely to include former England all-rounder Dominic Cork, who was recently in the Caribbean with the England Masters side that played in the CLOBI Cup World Masters Tournament in Barbados, and could call on recent England batsman Michael Carberry.

Somerset's director of cricket, Brian Rose, noted his side would be slightly weakened by the absence of regular captain Marcus Trescothick and Indian all-rounder Murali Kartik, but he believed they had enough resource to go all the way.

"It's a great competition to be involved in, and one we feel we have a realistic chance of winning, even without Marcus," he said.

"We shall be taking a really strong squad, and giving it our best shot. The Caribbean is not a bad place to be in January!"

Somerset are likely to be boosted by Craig Kieswetter, a member of the England squad that won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year.